Around the Planes in 80 Days

[Daphoa]

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I haven't been posting for a while, so here's Caer catching up. I'll try to make everything as resolved as possible so that we don't have to just back much (if at all).

Cargo Hold
Seeing Raith's permission to access the cargo hold, Caer immediately jumps on board with the idea. Joining Raith and anyone else Caer follows the Tern to the cargo hold and watches as Tern lets himself into the hold. Upon entering Caer is overwhelmed by a sense of... mediocrity. Everything is exactly as he would expect. Though he supposed Tern wouldn't have let them in if there was anything blatantly obvious in here. Frowning and turning away from the group Caer waved his hands as subtly as he could and scanned the nearest box for any magical activity. Disappointed at his results, Caer dismissed the spell, lest the glowing blue eyes revealed his mistrust. Giving Tern a smile Caer thanks him for his time and trust and leaves the hold.

Departure & Orientation
Caer was completely overwhelmed by the sight of... well... nothing. And everything. It was a vastness he had never truly seen before - so empty. Sigil always had the comforting districts to look up to, but this - this was so - so. Open. It was too much. He was starting to feel, well sick. That was the closest description.
"We are about to run you through the orientation, if you have any more questions, axe away!." Taking the welcome distraction from the vast void, Caer smiles with a hint of queasiness. "Well I wouldn't want to hold up the orientation. My questions can wait." He finishes up with another queasy smile then steps towards the back of the group. He wanted to hide this as best as possible. So he stopped and focused on voice speaking who introduced himself as Inerak.
Then Inerak immediately starts talking about subjective gravity. Caer lost it. Imagining falling up into sky made him simply fall over. He couldn't take it. It was just too much. The ship. The floor of the ship was something he could focus on. Just think about the ground. He stared straight at it. It wasn't moving. Just think about the ground and it's solidness. Relax. Just don't think about anything else.
Slowly Caer managed to calm himself down. When he eventually mustered the courage to look up at his surroundings, he noticed no one was looking at him - in fact they all seemed to have gone to practice this subjective gravity stuff. Staring directly at the ground he stumbled over to the stairs and on his way down he realized with a start he couldn't see his hand in front of him. He must've cast his invisibility spell at some point - he couldn't tell when.
Eventually sitting down on his bunk he realized this was going to be a long voyage.

After a short while Caer eventually get up. He needed to get over this... dislike of the Astral plane. Well... maybe later. The idea of falling up terrified him. Anyway, he decided now might be a good time to go around and meet the crew.

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This should line up with Meeting the Crew in Dan's section

Night in the Mess Hall
This Golradir knows how to tell a story Caer thought to himself through the long speech. It occurred to Caer that this may be a story worth telling sometime himself, and he makes mental notes of some of the points.
When Golradir finally finishes speak Caer found his own voice joining in with the cheers. "Well done," he says to Golradir, patting him on the back.

Called to Deck
"All crew to the deck, Now!" Caer stiffened. He was hoping to avoid the deck this soon after... yesterday. Still - it wasn't anything to worry about. It was... nothing. Literally. Caer gulped down and focused. He focused on... writing. Copying. The mundane mimicry of paper to paper. Nothing but the paper. Lady, if Balthazar knew how much his dull work was helping right now he'd never hear the end of it. With this in mind, he went up to the deck. It was still unnerving, but at least he was still standing.

Live
Someone had sabotaged the telekinetic drive. How... He had no idea. Caer knew he didn't trust these acquaintances of his fully. He was pretty sure he trusted Miibaax and sort of Reylin, but even then he had his doubts sometimes. Kaigen seemed friendly enough, but he hadn't talked to him enough. Everyone else, with the exception of Raith and Xanian, seemed more or less sociable people, but that didn't really say enough.

That being said, it didn't stand that the group was accused as a whole.
"Tern" Caer says straight towards the man, focusing on his face and not the massive empty -. No. His face. "While I can merely begin to grasp the severity of the matter, pointing figures is only likely to sow distrust and increase tension." As he said that, Caer realizes that may very well have been the point of this action. "While we may have come to your ship as a group, I can unfortunately not vouch for many of my companions - most I met only once on the same side of a confrontation that had the fortune to be noteworthy."

"With that said we should be very careful to make accusations. Whoever did this will be found, with time and patience." Well, unless it was important. Patience was great in theory, but in practice it just stopped you from doing things. "Let's be careful and try to sort out what exactly happened, as best we can."

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Meh, here's a roll for Miibaax's read thoughts. Shouldn't need any special information though - you can just use what I've written above.
(1d20+4)[16] DC 20

[ErminaPix]

"Unfortunately for me, I developed the habit of sleeping invisibly from my travels through the beastlands. I'm sure you all would too if given the option. So although I can produce no eye witnesses to testify my whereabouts, I shall circle back to the fact that I am from the Beastlands. I have a natural aversion to anything technological. If the piece in question is from above deck, I can ask Fritz if he saw anything as he stood watch last night." as she says this, Fritz's head will diligently raise from his slumber by the stairs entrance.

[petagee]

Tern scowls at Xanian and Raith, then resumes glaring at the party, as if still pondering the rebuttal. He moves down onto the main deck, straight in front of Xanian, inches from his face. “I don’t believe you. I think you have it stowed somewhere on this ship. Rodiv, Inerak, come we me. We are going to search their possessions. You bunch are going to stay right here until we are finished. Fiona, if they so much as flinch, kill them.” He glares once more at the party, then moves below deck. Many members of the crew move to surround the party, looking tense.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian holds Kagé back as the captain moves threateningly close to his person. The half-vampire is unflinching as he leans closer towards Tern, arcane energies swirling around his figure (armor is coming on). After a few moments, he lifts his visor, eyes burning with fire and steel behind a cold emotionless facade. "Be--my--guest."

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Just for some fun and flavor, might as well roll some intimidate: (1d20+7)[12]

[petagee]

Tern smiles back at Xanian. "You trying to frighten me? Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" Tern glares intensely at Xanian, causing Xanian to stumble away in a dazed state. Tern then turns his back to leave the top of the deck. The whole of the crew is stunned in silence as they see the Dark knight dethroned in such spectacular fashion.

OOC:

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Xanian loses 6 points of charisma and he is dazed for one round.

Xanian failed a will save, BTW.

[NightAngel16]

Xanian bares his canines as he stumbles back. After giving his head a shake, he slumps against his griffon and de-armors himself. Noticing the stares of the crew and party members, he icily retorts to no one in particular, "You may all think us traitors, backstabbers, infidels... But we were hired onto this ship for a specific TASK, and even a lowly dog knows who the master is..." With that, Xanian tosses the remainder of his fruit to Kagé, who catches it deftly in his beak, and remains seated in a seething rage.

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Haha maybe I should've tried out my daunting presence...
Anyways, did you mention you could heal ability scores Jared? :P

[Arkady]

Reylin continues to impassively watch the scene unfold, trusting that whatever the cause of this situation is, he is not responsible. Upon Tern's request to search their belongings, he will only incline his head in agreement. What little he brought with him shouldn't be incriminating, though the disturbing possibility that whoever stole the device might try to frame someone else does cross his mind.

The disagreement between Xanian and Tern causes Reylin to frown. The situation is tense enough as is, the main goal right now should be to diffuse the situation and figure out what has happened. After Tern, Rodiv, and Inerak disappear below deck, Reylin will look to his companions and check that Xanian is not seriously hurt, attempting to heal what he can.

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Reylin will attempt to cast Lesser Restoration on Xanian, but if he is stopped by the crew he will not continue to try.
Lesser Restoration (1d4)[3]

[NightAngel16]

Xanian nods in thanks to Reylin and slowly rises. His voice seems distant, but firm "Though I did not ask for it... your assistance is still appreciated bird-brain." He gives Reylin a clasp on the shoulder, almost as if it was an attempt at comradeship...?

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If the heal goes through...

[Arkady]

"Always a pleasure, ironworks..." Reylin will continue to stand watch and await the captains return.

[The Big Orc]

"Captain Tern," Raith shouts, "As it is clear you have such distrust in us it will not seem unreasonable that we do not trust you anymore. If you will search our gear one of us will be present to confirm you or your men do not plant anything in it." Raith's hands go to the daggers on his side.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Everyone
Tern glares at Raith. "On this ship, you can either fight beside me or be crushed underneath my heel, but you will not stand in my way."

A few minutes later, Tern and company return to the deck. “There has been a development. It seems Golradir is missing. He left an illusion of himself in bed.” Tern continues, “And since you are all still present, I doubt you have it. The ship offers very little in the way of hiding spaces, and without the drive you are as stranded here as the rest of us. Sibi, are there any other members of the crew missing this morning?” Sibi steps forward, surveys the crew with a single glance, then closes his eyes for a few moments. Opening them after, in a bug-eyed stare at the captain, he reports, “All accounted for except Golradir. He is no longer on the ship it seems...” Mumbling amongst the crew resumes, as the captain continues. Ventus walks up to Tern “uuh, captain. We are so close to Tu'narath that you could probably take a leak off the side and hit a Gith.” Tern looks troubled and massages his brow “So thats why he did it now, he wants the Githyanki to finish us. Sibi, scry on him right now. Tell me where he’s gone. I have a sneaking suspicion he has something to do with the missing drive.”

Sibi snatches his squid companion off his forearm, and places it on his head, like a hat. He then takes both his palms and presses them against his temples, his eyes now squeezed shut. He starts mumbling unintelligibly, concentrating intensely. After a few moments of tense silence, he emerges from his trance, his eyes wide, but confused. “He seems to be in two places, or in two pieces, I cannot say. But neither of them too far away…” Tern looks troubled. “Very well. We send two search parties after him. Ventus, you will lead one. Take a half dozen members of the crew with you. You lot,” Tern says, nodding towards the party, “This will be your first opportunity to prove you are a little more than a liability and worth the money I spent to get you here. My understanding is that you have all worked together before. You will search out the other signal. I will remain with the ship, along the rest of the crew. Return quickly with what you find, and try not to return empty handed. Otherwise, its a very, very long trip back to the Sigil portal” With that last comment, he scowls again at the party, then retreats below deck.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is making preparations for departure. Inerak comes over to the party with a bag, “For what it’s worth, I believe that you lot don’t have anything to do with this. Golradir might’ve been an elemental activist, if you ask me. The way he talked about what was happening on the Plane of Earth, made me wonder at least. Anyway, you lot’ll be needing this for your trip, seeing as some of you can’t stop yourselves from falling.” He pulls out a wand from the bag and hands it to Caer, “Much as I know some of you hate the whole gravity business, you’ll be needing to fall to get where you are going. This wand should help with that. Also, hang on to this.” He procures a small red amulet about the size of a palm. “This will lead you back to the ship. We have it’s pair here on board. Just close yer eyes and focus on the ship and it should give you a good heading. Oh, and I should mention what yer looking fer. It’s a glowing pink object, about the size of someone’s head. Matter of fact, it kind of looking like a glowing brain. Shouldn’t be too hard to spot!” He smiles, then moves over to where Ventus is assembling his group, consisting on Fiona, Inerak and a few other members of the crew. Sibi runs over to Ventus as he gathers his group, “You need help? Why not Sibi Alin Zakor? WOOOP WOOOP WOOOP WOOOP!” He runs around in a state of frenzy, waving his poor, disoriented, pet squid around in the air. He then disappears below deck for some time, leaving the crew stunned and confused.

A little while later, Sibi heads over to the group, still looking bug eyed and puzzled. [COLOR="Teal]“You’re heading is simple: UP!”[/COLOR] He shouts the last word in a strange, high pitched voice. “Fall straight up from deck and you should reach close to where it seems he is. This should help if he changes position.” He gives the party is a small trinket that looks like a pocket watch. “ This will only track him for 24 hours or so. It should not take you more than a few hours to reach him if he doesn’t move too far, and you fall straight up… then stop of course…. Best of luck!” Sibi then does a 540 degree spin and darts off below deck, in strange half run, half skip. Ventus’s team soon depart, and the rest of the crew hurry around the deck, some of them setting up barricades inside the doors leading into the ship, while others prepare to defend the ship from a potential attack.

[The Big Orc]

Raith heads below deck to gather the rest of his gear before rejoining the group on the deck.

[Daphoa]

Caer starts slightly when being addressed. "I'll be sure to hold onto the wand" Caer says with a slightly strained smile, somewhat shocked his supposed secret was so simply stated. " Glad to hear you trust me. We'll be back as soon as possible. Just give me a second to grab my things."

Walking down below deck, Caer plops down on his bunk holding his face in his hands. He had just somehow been given a responsibility he didn't really think he was ready for. The... empty. He was going to have to fall through it. Emptiness. Oh... He had to stop. This wasn't helping. Tern had given him a responsibility, and he had to follow through. It was the mission. Just focus on that. He could pretend. Pretend none of this was real. It was the closest he had to go on. He was just going to have to manage. Nothing else to do.

Stealing himself he shifted focus to the wand. He had a pretty good guess of what it did but he just wanted to double check.

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I don't know if there are exact rules on identifying the spell on a wand, but I'll give a spellcraft check and can I say expended a charge trying to figure out what it did exact? (If it helps I'm working on the assumption it's a Feather Fall spell)
Spellcraft:(1d20+15)[28]

[Kamiidude]

Kaigen is not especially pleased about how far he has to fall. Kaigen resolves to talk to Ventus about his shugenja training when he gets back and find out if he has any remedies for air-sickness.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Dear Nia
I hope that this message reaches you in good health. I deeply regret that recent events in Sigil have kept us from each other's company. I respect that you tire of this topic, but I would urge you to reconsider my request. It was quite an impressive feat to track the Spirit Eater to its abode within the Celestial Planes, and even more so to coax some semblance of meaning from their fractured minds. What the two of have found opens up many possibilities.

Your husband was right to try to keep this hidden from your kin. I am afraid that your brethren insist on marching towards their own self destruction. There is no such thing as a power that cannot be challenged, but it must be done so in the proper time and place. You do not need to share their fate. Work with me, and I will personally guarantee the safety of you and your family. If the Free League realized the source of your husband’s ‘discoveries’, their fearful and petty minds would seek his destruction. The Factions are becoming weaker by the day, and if certain infernal agitators have there way the war will arrive all the sooner. I see a great hand, reaching out of the stars, brushing aside the filth in our great city. You do not want to be on the wrong side when it gets here. The city will need a champion in the dark days ahead, and no matter what the cost I will be there for it.


Rowan Darkwood

P.S. I am sorry that I was unable to make it to your son's Caer’s 3rd birthday. I hope he enjoys the plush dragon I sent him.

[The Big Orc]

Raith's description of Rowan Darkwood, "Rowan Darkwood was one of the key figures in the faction war. He was a ranger and mortal man from some unknown material plane. As Factol of the Fated, he attempted to seize power in Sigil by infiltrating several other factions. He was also known for instigating the Fated's focus on intelligence gathering, giving them the status they still hold today. He is still a controversial personality, the Fated and others hold him in high regard, while others claim that his schemes threatened the stability of the city and provoked the Lady into starting the Faction war. No one knows what happened to him, some claim that he was ambushed in the Astral plane by the Sensates. Other, less known rumors say that his ambition led him to scheme of usurping the Lady of Pain herself, and that he was mazed for his troubles."

[Daphoa]

Caer didn't know what to do. He was stunned. This letter written to his mother. At first he was simply shocked to see a record of his mother in a place like this. He didn't know what to do.

"This letter was written by Rowan Darkwood?" Caer snaps his head and barks "What do you know about Rowan?" and stares intently at Raith.

Caught in a trance Caer reread the note. And again. It seems as though his father and this Rowan had discovered something. It clearly had to do with the failed attempt at the Lady's assassination Raith had been talking about. But did that mean his parent's were involved? If so what happened to them? Were they... mazed? He gulped. He couldn't... What... He simply didn't know what to think.

He didn't know what to do. He'd deal with it later. Stuffing the letter in his bag, he left the room focusing on the door down the hall. "Let's go. We should find Golradir."

[Arkady]

In the moment of silence after the battle, Reylin will put away the rod he used to revive Kaigen. Gently picking up the "brain" that they came for, Reylin will secure it within his backpack. After saying a few words for Golradir, Reylin will walk back out to the place where they first saw the devourer and prepare to return to the ship.

[The Big Orc]

After waiting for Caer to realize that he doesn't have the object to guide everyone back to the ship, Raith will take it out and guide everyone back to the ship.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Making their way back to the ship takes a few hours of falling, but soon they see their destination in the distance. Then, all of a sudden, the parties encounters a half-dozen or so Githyanki corpses floating through the air directly towards them. Dodging out of the way, they make to Voidbreaker, where they see the aftermath of what was seems to have been a fierce battle between some Githyanki pirates and the crew. Off in the distance, the party can see another ship fleeing off into in great beyond. On deck, Tern is stained in black Githyanki blood, and as the party lands on deck, he begins shouting, “Took you lot damn long enough to get back. I hope you haven’t come empty handed” Tern looks angry, and a little ragged, like he hasn’t rested in some time.

[Daphoa]

Just outside the Temple
After checking that everyone was ready to go, Caer reaching in his bag searching for the homing device Tern had given him. Not finding it immediately he frowned, took a closer look while terror that he had lost their guide back to the ship was building. Starting to panic that they were stranded here he began to look around the front of the temple for the device.

His fear were resolved when he saw Raith pull the device out, but were quickly replaced by anger which was starting to show on his face. Wanting to return to the ship more than anything Caer simply waits for Raith to lead them there. After everything that had happened falling up wasn't nearly as bad as usual.

On the ship
Caer's worries temporarily forgotten, he walks over to Tern, giving a partial bow out of politeness. "Sorry we took so long. I can give you the details later, but I'm sure you'll be pleased to know we managed to acquire the device. Reylin has it," he said, gesturing to Reylin, "just let him know what you want him to do with it. Now, unless there are more Githyanki around, I'd like to rest." He finishes questioningly.
Normally he'd likely be more concerned about the Githyanki attack, but this trip had left him emotionally drained and he wanted nothing more than to lie alone in his bunk. He was somewhat regretting not selecting an independent room now. Maybe Miibaax would let him use his room to nap; he'd ask if the common room got busy.

[The Big Orc]

Nodding to Captain Tern as they arrive back on the ship, Raith holds onto the device for returning to the ship unless the group is asked for it. Following Caer down to the lower deck, he stores his non essential equipment in his room before going back to the common room, "I assume after finding that note you'd like some privacy. My door is unlocked," before returning to the deck.

[NightAngel16]

Swooping back onto the ship, a large puff of dust rises as mount and rider make their return. Xanian casually dismounts Kagé, de-armoring at the same time. Massaging the griffon's wing joint, he simply states, "Come on, let's see what sustenance this vessel can provide. Can't be too sure when we will next need our strength against foes, or even allies..." Xanian's gaze darkens as it briefly rests on Captain Tern at this last phrase. As the two move briskly towards the mess hall, Xanian nods curtly at Tern, "Cap-tain.", and they continue forward without breaking pace.

[ErminaPix]

Ermina will hesitate before leaving the office in the dungeon. If caer does not take the plush dragon, she'll add it to her belongings in her backpack. he'll not want to lose this when he comes around on the way back to the ship, Ermina will take the time to cast message. She'll also wait to re-summon Fritz til she's determined the ship isn't a war zone. She will turn visible and go find Ventus to compare war stories.

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for those who requested it, I'll describe Fritz. He is a medium sized quadruped with thick grey and beige fur. Though he doesn't resemble anything anyone has ever seen, for simplicity sake, you can compare him to a badger. For those of you who are particularly observant, after a year apart, his teeth and claws look particularly more intimidating

[petagee]

Tern eyes the part suspiciously, then calls out, “Rodiv, the piece has been retrieved. Get us moving, now! Ventus, get my heading. Let’s leave before more Githyanki decide to come and take a second go at us.” A few minutes later, the soft buzzing of the telekinetic drive starts up and, while its hard to tell, the ship does seem to begin moving forward. Ventus flies off to search out the heading for the ship.

Before the party gets a chance to go below deck, Tern shouts out to the party, “You lot, you do not have leave for rest until you give me a full briefing of what happened. So start explaining.” Tern crosses his arms, waiting for a response. The rest of the crew, hearing the order for the party to explain, groups around to hear the tale of how the part was recovered.

[Arkady]

Reylin takes the drive component out of his backpack and gives it immediately to Rodiv, who he will search for if he is not in the immediate vicinity. After that is done, he will go to Tern to report their findings.

"We tracked the drive component to what appeared to be the lost ruins of the temple of Aoskar. It appears that Golradir fled with the drive component but was captured by a devourer. We fought and destroyed it, and recovered the drive component, but we were unable to save Golradir. His soul is in a better place now. I can give you a more detailed report later if you wish, but for now, what happened here? Do you have any wounded that require attention?"

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After making his report, Reylin will attend to any injuries with what healing spells he has left, and then move on to using more conventional means if he runs out of spells. After that, he will go to meditate and refresh his spells, and then sleep for a few hours to recover from this little adventure, baring any interruptions.

[petagee]

Tern looks a little dissatisfied with Reylin’s explanation. “More detail will be required. Where was Golradir? And what is this about a devourer? And there were a few wounded, but the Githyanki didn’t commit too much to the assault, which suggests that they may be coming back again soon. You may go around to check in after I am satisfied with the explanation I receive.” There are a few whispers from the crew about the devourer. Many seem quite scared about the presence of a devourer so near to the ship.

[ErminaPix]

Ermina tries her hand at storytelling..."We arrived at the temple described and a figure we identified as a devourer is standing by a portal by the entrance. A devourer is a soul eater that kills its victims, then consumes their souls and leaves the bodies to rot. The soul becomes disfigured and becomes one with the chest cavity of the devourer. To give you some idea what I mean, we saw the beast claw our comrade, then share the licking of the blood with the mini fetus creature that was our traitor. We almost lost Kaigen here, and witnessed what would've been another soul stealing, if Reylin hadn't been quick on the upkeep." Ermina gestures to the appropriate people as they are mentioned. "The temple itself had three main areas that we mastered; one for law, another for evil, and one for chaos. The first required wisdom, the second, resourcefulness, and the third, comfort with subjectional gravity." Ermina raises an eyebrow in what she hopes is a distinctly non-sassy way. "Was that explanation sufficient?"

[petagee]

“Not yet. You’re telling me that you entered some kind of temple? How did it get in the astral plane? Temples of Aoskar aren’t just left floating around.” Tern looks confused, the story now quite jumbled.

[The Big Orc]

"I suspect the Lady had something to do with it when she destroyed the temple to Aoskar whose ruins sit in Sigil to this day."